News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Aksel and Daniel Slotnaes jump over creeks and climb fallen logs at Cold Springs Campground near Sisters on May Day. Studies show that kids who spend time in nature are smarter, more attentive, and less anxious. photo T. Lee Brown
Walk into the Sisters Library on a weekday afternoon, and you'll see people of all ages staring at screens. A recent visit found a gaggle of young boys gathered around computer monitors, whispering in excitement as they blew people up with their virtual tanks. One fired up a violent video game in the children's room, where toddlers were playing and younger kids reading. It's not just at the library, of course: after school, kids chill out in front of the TV at home or get on a Snapchat streak to wind down after an intense day of learning and socializing.
Where you won't find many kids? Out in nature. And that, according to experts, is a big problem.
Kids who play outside are smarter, happier, more attentive, and less anxious than kids who spend their time indoors, according to research. They learn to think and solve problems better. Unstructured time in nature builds confidence, imagination, creativity, and a sense of responsibility. It encourages movement and the creation of a solid, inner sense of self. Spending time in nature combats depression and anxiety in all age groups, and can relieve ADHD symptoms.
Digital media and screen-use, on the other hand, are directly linked to negative outcomes.
"Research has demonstrated a linear relationship with social media use and increased rates of depression and anxiety," says Audry Van Houweling, founder of She Soars Psychiatry in Sisters, "especially among youth and adolescents."
In other words, the more often someone is tapping away on their phone or tablet, the more likely they are to get the blues. Recent fMRI brain scans show that playing violent games causes temporary but notable physiological changes in the brain, similar to brain scans of teens with sociopathic disorders.
So why do kids and grownups alike gravitate to our phones and screens? The answer is simple: design. Teams of well-paid engineers in Silicon Valley spend their hours developing new ways to magnetize users' attention-regardless of the cost to the users' health, relationships, and civic dialogue. Apps and devices are specifically designed to hook users into habitually checking notifications, playing games, and dropping into "rabbitholes" of content they didn't plan to view.
The pull-to-refresh mechanism in many apps provides a great example of how this technology sucks people in. Updating a screen with a downward-pull motion is unnecessary with today's tech, but companies still use it to increase their apps' addictive qualities. People respond to it like gamblers pulling a one-armed bandit's lever in a casino. They like pushing buttons. The engineer who designed it, Lorne Brichter, says, "I have two kids now and I regret every minute that I'm not paying attention to them because my smartphone has sucked me in."
Users are rewarded for compulsive behavior with points, "likes," and retweets, encouraging them to return over and over to the apps in question for a dopamine hit that buzzes the brain's pleasure center.
"Evidence suggests the same dopaminergic pathways that are activated with addictions such as gambling and substance-use are activated with ongoing digital device-use as well," explains Van Houweling. "This can create emotional highs and lows and literally withdrawals when digital devices are taken away or not available."
She adds that using digital media as a short-term "pacifier" for children causes long-term problems; parents need to learn to say no. "Too much time on digital devices can create the need for persistent mental stimulation," she says. "Slowing down to listen to the teacher, have a thoughtful conversation, be outside, and learning to be present can seem boring and may create symptoms of distractibility, inattentiveness, agitation, and restlessness."
Many people who work with families and kids are worried about today's technology, including Guy Winch, author of "How to Fix a Broken Heart." Speaking on the radio show "Note to Self," he recently said, "There is a highly, highly addictive side to social media... two 'highlys' precede the 'addictive;' that's how strongly I feel about it. When you give your child access to that, you are potentially setting them up for that addiction."
But there is hope. Winch noted that technology is a tool: "We can wield it in a very positive way-if we do it thoughtfully." Frazzled adults are questioning their own nonstop device-use. Tools are being created to help people better manage their social media and screen time. Nature programming is improving in our local area (see also "Nature: the Planet's Best Classroom," page 23). The result may be a healthier, brighter future for the children of Sisters Country and beyond.
This is Part 1 in a series. Tell us about your experiences with digital devices, social media, and time in nature. Email freelance writer [email protected]
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